It would be stating the obvious to say that Samuel L. Jackson makes so many movies you’d need to be a dedicated completionist to track down every single feature film the actor has ever lent his name to, especially when his list of credits is fast closing in on the 200 mark.
As a result, he’s appeared in a great number of underrated, unsung or forgotten projects that don’t get the recognition they deserve, and we can definitely include 2008’s Lakeview Terrace on that list. Jackson delivers an incendiary performance in a suburban thriller that boasts Will Smith as one of the producers, and it’s fully deserving of being called a hidden gem.
Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington play newlyweds who move in next door to Jackson’s veteran cop, who acts as the unofficial protector of the titular community. As it turns out, Officer Abel Turner is a bigot with a very short fuse that disapproves of the interracial couple pitching up on his turf, which sets a plot of in motion that admittedly becomes ludicrous by the third act, but never strays below entertaining.
A $44 million haul at the box office on a $20 million budget was a solid return, but a 44% Rotten Tomatoes score seems a little harsh for something that’s fully aware it’s a glorified B-movie. That clearly hasn’t bothered Netflix subscribers, though, with FlixPatrol revealing with Lakeview Terrace has spent the entire weekend stealthily ascending the platform’s most-watched list.
Published: Dec 6, 2021 04:49 am